The Hive Effect
corrupted land
DIG JUST BELOW THE SURFACE IN SANDWELL AND YOU'LL FIND DIRT?
uk #1 most toxic district
atrocity
SANDWELL is the NUMBER 1 area in England with the most TOXIC LANDFILLS with potentially hazardous waste per square km.
According to agency data mapped by the Ends Report, there are more than 21,000 old landfills scattered across England and Wales.
Of these, 1,287 are categorised as containing hazardous waste, which could pose a health risk to people and the environment if it escapes into the surrounding air, water, soil and vegetation.
Some 7,265 of the old landfills harbour industrial waste, with many containing “industrial liquid sludge”.
At 413 further sites the waste has been categorised by the Environment Agency as unknown.
Landfills whose contents are recorded as unknown tend to be older sites, explaining the lack of information.
One environmental professional who deals with remediating sites for development told the Ends Report and the Guardian that landfills from the 1950s and 60s were “a complete mess” and that “you can find anything in there”.
Ends Report has mapped the sites, revealing that 35% of the hazardous sites – 449 – lie under green spaces.
A further 21% lie beneath farmland, 15% are below industrial sites, 10% are under parkland, 9% are under housing estates and 4% are under commercial sites containing shops and restaurants – assuming none were removed on development.
About 746 toxic dumps are located within 500 metres of water bodies.
13 are beneath golf courses.
4 are below school grounds.
Another 4 are situated under racing tracks.
3 lie below cricket pitches.
Of the 413 landfills where the contents are unknown to the Environment Agency:
6 lie beneath schools
10 beneath playing fields
75 are under housing
26 are under parkland.
CHECK WHERE YOU LIVE NOW. VISIT THE ENDS REPORT HERE
IT'S WHY BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE IS SO IMPORTANT!
THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT
THE UK HAS BEEN NAMED AS ONE OF THE MOST DEPLETED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD!
SOIL
Soil is an important natural capital resource. It provides us with many essential services.
Soil biodiversity and the many biological processes and soil functions that it supports are thought to be under threat.
TREES
The England Trees Action Plan is not only to stem the tide of nature loss, but to turn it around – to leave the environment in a better state than we found it. The England Trees Action Plan is central to this. Trees and woodlands also play an increasingly important role in building thriving rural economies, helping to level up the whole of the UK,
THE STATE OF THE WILDLIFE
HALF THE UK'S WILDLIFE IS IN DANGER INCLUDING HEDGEHOGS AND DOORMICE.
DYING POLLINATORS
DYING BIRDS
DYING AMPHIBIANS
DYING MAMMALS
440 PLANTS, 405 INVERTIBRATES and 232 FUNGI and LICHEN IN DANGER!
THE LAND GRAB
BROUGHT TO YOU BY...
SANDWELL COUNCIL HAVE BEEN STEALING OUR PUBLIC ASSETS AND SELLING THEM TO PRIVATE BUYERS FOR DECADES.
Sandwell Council's relentless actions over the past few decades have pillaged our precious public green spaces, parks, and cherished allotments, leaving a trail of lost land in their wake. Motivated by nothing but greed, spite, and the insatiable demand for private housing, Sandwell Council has repeatedly stolen these vital community assets, casting aside the collective well-being for short-term gains. The consequences are dire, with once vibrant green oases now lost to concrete and urban sprawl.
This is the sorrowful saga of The Land Grab — a narrative of betrayal, where Sandwell Council's inhumane actions have desecrated our communal heritage, eroded the fabric of our neighbourhoods, and sacrificed the sanctity of nature for profit.
THIS MAP SHOWS THE PLOTS OF LAND THAT SANDWELL COUNCIL HAVE STOLEN FROM US, AND SOLD THEM (SOME TO THEIR FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES) DEPRIVING OUR COMMUNITIES OF VALUABLE SOCIAL ASSETS. THIS IS DEPRIVATION IN SANDWELL.
THE LEVELS OF DEPRIVATION IN OLDBURY AND DEPRIVATION IN ROWLEY REGIS ARE INCREASED WITH EVERY PUBLIC GREEN SPACE STOLEN AND SOLD TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
INEQUALITY IN SANDWELL IS PARAMOUNT.
SANDWELL COUNCIL IS CORRUPT. SANDWELL COUNCIL DECIEVE. SANDWELL COUNCIL LIE. SANDWELL COUNCIL STEAL AND SANDWELL COUNCIL CON. FACTS.
PUBLIC ASSET #1 -
PENNCRICKET LANE ALLOTMENTS
THIS ALLOTMENT LAND HAS BEEN STOOD EMPTY AT THE END OF THE ROAD WHERE I WAS BORN FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS. IN 2016 AFTER OBTAINING LEGAL DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE OWNERSHIP OF THIS LAND I APPLIED TO UTILISE IT FOR A COMMUNITY PROJECT FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
SINCE THE DAY SANDWELL COUNCIL STOLE THIS LAND THEY HAVE COMPLETELY IGNORED US AND ABANDONED US
NOW IT HAS BEEN SOLD FOR NO PURPOSES OTHER THAN GREED & SPITE
When we applied for this land in 2016, Sandwell Council were not even aware that they owned it!
The reasons for this were that it had not been catalogued or registered digitally and the people responsible for carrying out this task (the only people who knew of the lands) had retired during that time.
Therefore this parcel of land was forgotten until WE found documents confirming the previous allotment status of the land, and the ownership belonging to the public/ Sandwell Council.
We applied to the Land Registry and purchased the documents that show the boundaries of the allotment, the railway boundaries and the Billies boundaries. All of it was owned by the public/ Sandwell Council.
-
WE TOLD SANDWELL COUNCIL IN GOOD FAITH - EVEN THOUGH WE KNEW IT WAS RISKY.
-
WE EVEN TOLD THEM IN OUR LETTERS AT THE TIME, THAT IT WAS RISKY IN US TELLING THEM!
-
WE TOLD THEM THAT NOW IT WAS KNOWN ABOUT, IT WAS AT RISK FROM ITS OWN COUNCIL!
-
WE KNEW SOMEONE IN SANDWELL COUNCIL WOULD HAVE THEIR EYES ON IT.
-
WE KNEW IT WOULD BE SOLD.
-
WE TOLD THEM IT WOULD BE SOLD.
SANDUNWELL COUNCIL IS ANYTHING BUT "WELL". IT IS AN ABOMINATION OF THE WORD.
WE WEREN'T EVEN OFFERED IT. WE WEREN'T EVEN TOLD IT WAS FOR SALE!
THIS IS NOT COINCIDENCE.
THIS IS THE WORK OF LIARS, THIEVES AND CONMEN.
We applied to the Land Registry once again and purchased the new documents that disclose the information of the people that conned their way into purchasing it from under our feet! Take a look at our story by pressing the button - the stolen allotment.
PUBLIC ASSET # 2 -
THE BILLIES - PENNCRICKET LANE / ASHES ROAD
LAND SOLD OFF. WERE YOU AWARE? WOULD YOU HAVE BOUGHT IT?
-
HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK IT IS WORTH?
-
HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK THAT IT SOLD FOR?
-
WHO DO RECKON SOLD IT AND WHO DO YOU RECKON PURCHASED IT?
-
Have you lived in the area all of your life and wonder what the hell is going on?
-
Do you think this is dodgy?
-
Do you want to dig into this and take a look to see what else you will uncover in the underhanded world of Sandwell Council?
Help us to change this. Help us to save our open spaces and we will transform them beyond your imagination. Sign our petition now.
PEOPLE - YOU HAVE BEEN ROBBED & YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW!
-
Did you know or were you ever aware that ANY of this land was private?
-
Did you know it was for sale or that it was ever for sale?
-
Did you know that THE BILLIES WAS FOR SALE?
-
Did you know that it was all public land?
-
Did you ever have your horses thrown off by the council for keeping them on PUBLIC LAND?
-
Did you ever have your horses thrown off the ALLOTMENT by the railway bridge on Penncricket Lane?
-
Did you even know that there was once an allotment on Penncricket Lane?
-
Did you know that a big swathe of it has been sold to private developers?
-
Did you get the opportunity to buy it?
-
Did you even know it was for sale?
-
Would you have bought it?
PUBLIC ASSET # 3 -
BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE - SOLD FOR HOUSING
BIG PRIVATE HOUSES FOR THE RICH LANDLORDS, THE CORRUPT AND THE GREEDY.
WHO DO YOU THINK WILL OWN THESE HOUSES?
There is so much to say about Brandhall Golf Course that we have only scratched the surface with the information provided on this website so far. However, even the suggestion of developing it is the most corrupt idea to ever fall out of the mouths of Sandwell "council".
DID YOU KNOW?
-
BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE IS ONE OF THE VERY RARE PLACES IN SANDWELL THAT HAS NOT BEEN POLLUTED BY THE TOXIC WASTE OF THE PAST!
-
BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE IS A SOURCE OF THE RIVER TAME!
-
BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE HAS ITS OWN 'PUDDING ROCK' AS CAN BE FOUND ON BARNFORD PARK!
-
BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE CONTAINS RARE SPECIES OF THE SAME FUNGI THAT MADE OTHER GREEN SPACES INTO SITES OF SCIENTIFIC IMPORTANCE!
-
BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE HAS BEEN HOME AND A RESTING PLACE FOR RARE BIRDS SUCH AS THE BLACK REDSTART, GOSHAWK, KINGFISHER AND WILLOW TIT THAT HAVE BEEN SEEN HERE!
-
BRANDHALL GOLF COURSE IS A HAVEN FOR RARE INSECTS SUCH AS THE EMPORER DRAGONFLY, BUTTERFLIES, NEWTS AND OTHER ENDANGERED AND THREATENED INSECTS!
DID YOU KNOW?
SANDWELL COUNCIL COULDN'T CARE LESS!
PUBLIC ASSET # 4 -
GRAFTON ROAD ALLOTMENT - EARMARKED FOR WHO?
We are sick of asking, only to be told "they're in use"!
Who's got an allotment then?
Seriously, who has an allotment on Grafton Road?
Grafton Road has an allotment. It is another corrupt story from the Sandwell Legacy. It was used, then just as it was about to be closed, an 8ft palisade fence and gates were erected, then it was abandoned. So we asked Sandwell Council to reopen it, or let us, on several occasions throughout our miserable lives here, and we were told the same thing every time; "it is in use by someone". Sadunwell Council deprive us this much.
Let's be totally honest, we have 50 allotments this side of the Wolverhampton Road, so corrupt just doesn't even begin to describe it.
Someone needs to answer for this.
PUBLIC ASSET # 5 -
LION FARM FIELDS - SOLD FOR RETAIL
IS THERE A BETTER WAY
OR HAVE WE JUST SOLD OUT?
This field is the only thing Lion Farm has ever had, since day 1.
We are not against progress, but we are against progress at any cost. There has to be a balance, and we live in an age where we can achieve anything, so let us achieve something extraordinary - together.
Remember, these are OUR only fields, so if they are sacrificed, then local people and the community should benefit first. If development is required for economical progress, then that must relate to local jobs, local training, and future local prospects before anyone and anything else. And that is a LOT of jobs.
The fields (or open space) doesn't have to be lost. In fact, a more bio-diverse environment could possibly be achieved with intelligent construction, using vertical garden and rooftop garden designs for example, that allow for a broader diversity of plants, and wildlife.
At the other end of the scale, we still have to have space, we still need parks, we still need more allotments, we still need our social club back, we still need places for our children and our communities to meet and thrive, we still need major investment, and if Sandwell Council cannot provide that, then either we will make it work ourselves, or we will make the developers pay for the lot!
IF DEVELOPERS WANT OUR PRIME LAND, THEN THEY CAN PAY PREMIUM FOR IT AND SANDWELL COUNCIL SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO TOUCH THAT MONEY WITH THEIR STICKY FINGERS.
ACTIVIST GROUPS
FOI REQUESTS
PUBLIC ASSET # 6 -
BROOK ROAD PARK - NO PARKS FOR THIS ESTATE!
Brook Road playing field, as the name suggests, WAS a park. It was a very small park with a slide and some swings and a grass field. It was rubbish, but it was all that a large estate like this had. Sandwell Council sold the half with the park on to build a PDSA veterinary centre. They have sold the rest for housing.
And what did we get in the local area? What we got was dog crap scattered everywhere from the people that now walk all around the area when they go to the PDSA and have to wait. The kids step in it, the pathways and grass are covered in it and the bins are full of it.
PUBLIC ASSET # 8 -
THE 'BACK OF THE BILLIES' ( FORMER CAKEMORE CANAL ARM) - SOLD FOR COMMERCIAL USE
BYE BYE DRAGONFLY!
BYE BYE BULLFROGS!
BYE BYE NEWTS!
This area was once the Cakemore arm of Titford Canal network until it was cut off during the construction of the M5 motorway, leaving it isolated and abandoned. As kids we used to play over there, and by then the old canal had become a bog land and marshland full of reeds and the brook (The River Tame), that ran alongside it, had sloping soil banks with trees and shrubs all the way along both sides.
It was full of frogs and toads and newts, but the one thing that stood out the most was the dragonflies. There was not another place for miles around where you could see even one dragonfly, yet here, you could just turn up and watch them hunt! There were so many dragonflies, and some of them where so huge that you could hear the alternate wing beats. There were bats, hedgehogs and foxes too, but now look at it. It is gone forever, and for what?
PUBLIC ASSET BUILDINGS
WHERE DID ALL OF OUR PARK KEEPERS HOUSES GO?
PARK KEEPERS HOUSE #1
BARNFORD PARK
We wonder how our park keepers houses have been sold off, just like this one, which is at the Green Flag Awarded Barnford Park, on the other side of the A4123.
The land was presented to the Borough of Oldbury in 1915 by Mr W. A. Albright of Albright and Wilson, the chemical manufacturer, one of the largest Oldbury firms. A plaque on the Park Keeper’s House commemorated this event, recording that Mr Albright presented the Park to the Borough of Oldbury -
'FOR THE USE OF THE PUBLIC FOREVER'
So how did it come to be sold? Who sold it? Who purchased it?
If it can be turned into a viable business as a children's nursery, then surely the people whom it belonged to should benefit. Surely some of them would have jumped at the chance for a job in a community nursery? Food for thought.
PARK KEEPERS HOUSE #2
The perfect example of NEGLECT. Britannia Park was once a beautiful park. It had a stunning garden area, changing rooms, a pavilion overlooking the tennis courts and the bowling green, a superb park, a cricket pitch, several football pitches and much more.
Now it is getting a makeover as part of the governments £19M investment in Rowley Regis.
The real reason that the park is getting a makeover is that it is soon to become another one of Sandwell Councils 'tended-to back gardens', because as part of the "upgrade" to the park, they are building themselves a new "HUB". This is a place that they will call the office and it is ALSO where we can go to raise our issues with them!
So you are getting your PARK REPLACED NOT A NEW PARK,
Which is still good, but it is for the wrong reasons & it's about 30 years overdue.
What is ironic is that if Sad-Unwell Council hadn't got rid of the park-keepers and sold the park-keepers houses to 'save money', then the parks would not have got vandalised and neglected in the first instance, and right now, we would have had a far superior park.
BRITANNIA PARK
REPLACING WHAT THEY NEGLECTED
LIBRARIES
WHERE HAVE OUR LIBRARIES GONE?
WASTED PUBLIC ASSET
SALOP DRIVE ALLOTMENTS
To put it bluntly, it's another complete farce, and further proof that on the north-side of the A4123 they have and waste far too many resources. Graham, founder of The Hive Effect, has been battling to put his own private polytunnels and beehives on a very small, old allotment site at The Billies on Penncricket Lane, for public use, for over 10 years. Now, AS IF BY MAGIC, the allotments have been MYSTERIOUSLY sold, and the beehives are still cluttered up in his greenhouse.
The facilities on the Salop Drive allotment are superb.
There are several Polytunnels - empty or full of junk.
There is a heated greenhouse - empty.
There are dozens of allotment plots - empty and unused.
There is a huge piece of ground - unkempt and mostly unused.
There is a further acre of ground - unmanaged and overgrown with grass and weeds.
There is an orchard - overgrown and unkempt.
There was a sensory garden - but it was too dangerous and its overgrown and unkempt.
There are toilets, a classroom, a community garden and more, just stood there.
It is not exactly 'IDEAL FOR ALL' is it?
We would treasure our project and our people, and it is for reasons like this, that our spaces would not go to waste and our people would not suffer as a consequence.
WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PARKS TO SUPPORT OUR EXISTING POPULATION ON THE SOUTH-SIDE OF THE A4123
WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OPEN SPACES TO SUPPORT OUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING ON THE SOUTH-SIDE OF THE A4123
WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH OPEN SPACES TO SUPPORT OR SUSTAIN NATURE ON THE SOUTH-SIDE OF THE A4123
WE DON'T HAVE ANY ALLOTMENTS ON THE SOUTH-SIDE OF THE A4123
WE HAVE NO PROPER COMMUNITY CENTRES ON THE SOUTH-SIDE OF THE A4123
WE HAVE NONE OF THIS BECAUSE SAD-UNWELL COUNCIL NEGLECTED US FOR OVER 40 YEARS.
NOW, SAD-UNWELL COUNCIL ARE TRYING TO SELL US OUT COMPLETELY.
The Hive Effect
TIME HAS RUN OUT - IT IS TIME TO STAND OUR GROUND
We know that we, as a civilisation, must make projects like The Hive Effect work. At The Hive Effect we know how to make this work, without it costing the earth, but all that Sandwell Council can see are pound signs, at our expense.
Sandwell Council should never be allowed to walk these lands with their heads held high, ever again.
CORRUPTED WATER
FOLLOW THE WATER & YOU WILL SEA, NO FUTURE HERE FOR HUMAN NOR BEE!
Healthy rivers are vital for biodiversity and to human health and well-being. Rivers provide habitats for a range of wildlife, protect against flooding and provide beautiful places for recreation and reflection.
Freshwater ecosystems are in crisis globally and in England there are concerns about the multiple stresses being placed on riverine biodiversity from bacteria from sewage pollution.
UK PARLIAMENT PUBLICATION
AND ALL WE WANTED WAS A BEEHIVE!
Free Water
Situated on the side of the River Tame, Brandhall Golf Course & Bee Sixty-Eight have access to all of the water they will ever need to sustain not only the plots, but to the wider surrounding areas. What's more is that the water that re-enters the water table will be cleaner than when it left the source! Managed, maintained, monitored water.
Food For All
Food. We don't need to go into detail about the global food chain but mentioning the cost, the shortage, and the demand is something that affects us at a local level. The Hive Effect can alleviate some of those problems by making fresh produce available to local people who may never have had access to such produce before.
This IS Food For All - so Join In and dig in!
Hands On Education
Every possible way to educate is explored at The Hive Effect, and at Bee Sixty-Eight that education really is evolutionary.
Come into the open apiaries or don a beekeeping suit. Plant a seed or take a cutting. Pick food or make a jam. Get involved here or take our ideas home.
Next Level Education
For the engineers out there, for the inventors and the problem solvers, we have some projects to whet your appetite too. They are all very hush right now but all will be revealed at our launch. It may turn out that you have an idea that is the best idea ever and you want to shout about it. Contact us by pressing the button below.
IT IS LOUDER IF WE SHOUT TOGETHER.
This Is Permaculture
THE HIVE EFFECT
The Ethics on which permaculture are built:
-
"Care of Earth: Provision for all life systems to continue to multiply"
-
"Care of People: Provision for people to access those resources necessary for their existence"
-
"Set limits to consumption and reproduction, and redistribute surplus"
Interested Parties
Our ideas have attracted so much attention from local businesses keen to explore our ideas further. These businesses are amongst the best in their fields and they like what we're doing.
And we thought we had some interesting concepts!
Call back when we launch and all will be revealed.
If you have an idea or you have thought to yourself "why hasn't anyone tried this before", then contact us by pressing the button below to get heard.
